If you’ve been to one of our retreats, you know that we wholeheartedly believe that yoga is more than just physical postures on the mat. We believe in pulling yoga into every aspect of life. Sonja Bjordal, of Feeding LeRoy, shares her story of overcoming debt, finding wellness through contentment, and achieving a lifelong dream of becoming a homeowner. She shares resources for tackling debt and building a nest egg. We hope you enjoy Sonja’s story as much as we did.

Hosting an event leaves the host feeling vulnerable and exposed. “Are people having fun? Does everyone have what they need? How can I improve this experience for the guests? Are the vendors doing okay?” You spend so much time creating this beautiful thing and then when you present it to the world it is scary, because the world might reject your idea.

This week, a story from Omie & mama Michelle Faith. Michelle grew up without a competitive bone in her body. Since her first marathon in 2007, she’s qualified for the Boston Marathon 5x and ran the Boston Marathon 3x. She found confidence, stress relief, and the mind-body connection through running. This year, she found herself facing harrowing conditions, making this one of her most memorable races yet.

Not too long ago, my wise & cheerful best friend was going through major life changes. At times she felt less-than-wise and not-so-cheerful, but she persevered and showed us all how it’s done….

Now, here I stand, in the eye of my own storm pursuing my own major life change. I am experiencing self-doubt, sadness, excitement, optimism, and hope - all in one. I can feel good things bubbling and brewing…..

My whole purpose of leaving my full time job to pursue my passion as a therapeutic healer was to give myself time to be better at what I do, to learn more about yoga and healing, and to have energy to be fully present with each client and student. I wanted to live a life of a holistic healer. I wanted to become a Yogi.

We wanted to give you a little run-down of all of the upcoming events and retreats. We hope you are able to join us! We are so passionate about yoga, healing, and community. We are so grateful for you. We aren't sure if you'll ever quite know just how grateful we truly are.

This week, we feature an honest reflection on life as a new mother from one of our beloved Omies, Kelsey Lindsay.

"In my life before motherhood, I was always struck by the limitlessness of nature; I hungrily sought out mountain ranges, crashing coastlines, open skies and starry nights, yearning for adventure. Nothing ever made my chest feel like it was going to crack open, threatening to spill my soul out in abject wonder quite like the wild glory of nature did. The itching need to gohummed in the background of my days, right up until I held my son for the first time. I immediately felt that I was holding the weight of the universe the moment he was earthside, and once he became a tangible weight in my arms, I knew that my adventurer’s heart would be forever tethered to wherever he was. I was stilled. And in that stillness, I knew that I no longer belonged to myself; I was permanently, irrevocably, forever his,and it is a sacrifice I willingly and wholeheartedly made, but it is a sacrifice nonetheless."

"We knew that a “class 5 scramble” would be part of our entry/exit to Coyote Gulch, but honestly I had no idea what that meant. We also knew that we had to carry out ALLLL of our own waste. I DID know what that meant….yikes."

Author: Bryana Cook is a Licensed Graduate Social Worker (LGSW) and Clinical Trainee, as well as a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance. She works full-time as an Elementary School Social Worker, owns and operates her own yoga business: Northern Namaste Yoga, and partners with Amanda and Joella to bring you Boreal Bliss Yoga Retreats.

An instagram challenge to make connections with our Omies and to commit to 15 days of deepening our yoga practice. Use the hashtag, tag us in your posts, and follow us on instagram to play along! @borealblissyogaretreats